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In Baalbek earlier this month, the Lebanese army got into a battle with the members of the 20,000-strong Jaafar clan, noted for its involvement in the hashish trade. At least 10 people were wounded – six of them soldiers.
Now, Mitchell Prothero of The National has been there to take… Read more
Sami Zubaida, Anthony Barnett and David Hayes pay tribute to Fred Halliday, the Middle East and international relations specialist, who died yesterday.
My favourite memory of Fred is a story he used to tell about meeting a Yemeni somewhere out in the wilds who asked which tribe he belonged to. Fred… Read more
Last month the Yemeni government's cultural magazine, al-Thaqafiya, published an article about an Egyptian film, Heena Maysara. Directed by Khaled Youssef, a protégé of the lateYoussef Chahine, it's a gritty critique of Egyptian society, set in the Cairo slums.
The film… Read more
Several thousand people joined the march for secularism in Beirut yesterday. Reuters notes a banner saying "Civil marriage, not civil war" and adds that many of the demonstrators "wore white T-shirts with 'What's your sect?' written on the front and 'None of your business' on… Read more
Writing on the Syria Comment blog, Joshua Landis asks: "Why are US analysts surprised that Syria arms Hizbullah?" It's a good question, reflecting a lack of balance in US policy when it comes to Syria and Israel.
Referring to current debate about sending a US ambassador to Syria, Landis… Read more
Last night's edition of Ma La Yuqaal ("What is not said") – the BBC Arabic TV series focusing on taboo subjects – dealt with homosexuality. (A previous one explored Arabs' obsession with virginity.)
Film from Egypt, the Gulf, Morocco and Israel was followed by a studio discussion in which I took… Read more
My review of Victoria Clark's book, "Yemen: Dancing on the Heads of Snakes", is published today in the Guardian.
There was also a review in The Economist a couple of days ago.
Posted by Brian Whitaker, 24 April 2010.
Hany Nazeer, an Egyptian blogger, has been detained without charge since October 2008 under the country's emergency law. This week, the interior ministry renewed his detention order for the sixth time – allegedly for his own protection.
Human Rights Watch explains:
"A high school social worker… Read more
Twenty-four people from a single family died yesterday when
a pick-up truck overturned in Marib province, Yemen.
Traffic accidents in Yemen (population 23m+) cost around 3,000 lives a year, according to official figures. This is probably not far off the death rate in the recent Houthi… Read more
"They did not know it was impossible, so they did it." Encouraged by these words from Mark Twain, several thousand Lebanese are expected to march through Beirut on Sunday, calling for secularism.
The event – known as Laïque Pride – is the latest result of internet activism in the… Read more
ARAB ART ONLINE: Susan Hefuna: Al Sabr Gamil (Patience is Beautiful) 2007. Ink stained on wood 140 x 170 cm. More information | Click to enlarge
